Preservatives are used in all processed foods to keep them from spoiling; unfortunately, most of these chemicals are extremely dangerous to our health and to the health of our children. In fact, many of the problems our society is facing today, including the high number of obese children, child diabetes and rising cancer rates, can be traced back to these artificial preservatives.

Most people will say that the preservatives keep food “fresh”; you’ll notice I didn’t use that word, because in my opinion, once you add deadly chemicals (or any chemicals for that matter) to a food, it’s no longer fresh. The word “fresh” indicates that a food is new, natural and unspoiled. Chemical preservatives being added to food to keep it “fresh” is an oxymoron, don’t you think?

Benzoic Acid is one of these preservatives that you should avoid. You’ll find Benzoic Acid in processed foods like cheeses, varying sauces as well as meats. Sadly, it’s also in cosmetic products and many pharmaceutical products, so it can be hard to avoid.

If Benzoic Acid is inhaled, it can cause damage to the nervous system. Eaten in food, it’s mildly toxic. Benzoic Acid has been linked to asthma problems and increased levels of hyperactivity in children. You know the problem our country has been having with ADHD? It’s just a made up disease; the reason all of our children are so hyperactive can be traced back to preservatives, such as Benzoic Acid, and other unnatural food additives.

To keep our children from contracting many of the problems that are plaguing our nation’s children, we should do our best to keep them away from chemical preservatives like Benzoic Acid. The hard part is that our children are not only eating this dangerous preservative, we’re also putting it on their skin.

Acne medicated face washes and creams contain benzoic acid, as do many hand and body lotions, lip glosses and lipsticks. Avon Skin-So-Soft, Avon Care Deeply Lip Balms, Avon Clearskin products, Avon Bath Time Body Paints and Aveeno Diaper Rash Cream are only a few examples of products for children that contain Benzoic Acid.

Since it’s in our foods AND in our skin care products, how are we supposed to keep it away from our kids? The best way is simply to read the labels; check the ingredients for any unhealthy or dangerous ingredients. There are also many organic options. With the increased knowledge of how unhealthy many of these chemicals are to our health, more and more companies are producing organic, all natural skin care and cleaning products.

A baby’s skin is tender; this is why parents use gentle care baby shampoo, baby wash and baby lotions. These products make claims to be gentle enough for baby’s tender skin, and we, as loving caring parents, believe it. After all, these products are recommended by doctors and other health professionals! Why wouldn’t we believe them?

Last year, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested 48 baby products, including bubble bath, baby wash and baby shampoo, including popular brands like Johnson & Johnson and Baby Magic. 23 of these contained trace amounts of formaldehyde, 32 contained trace amounts of 1,4-dioxane and 17 of them contained BOTH.

So what are 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde? According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), they are carcinogens, or cancer causing chemicals. It has been scientifically proven that our skin can absorb these harmful chemicals. How much more susceptible is the skin of a baby? Why would we want to expose our children to such dangerous chemicals on daily basis, at such a young age?

When the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics released the results of their study, Johnson & Johnson released a statement in response to the claims of carcinogens in their products:

The FDA and other government agencies around the world consider these trace levels safe, and all our products meet or exceed the regulatory requirements in every country where they are sold. We are disappointed that the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has inaccurately characterized the safety of our products, misrepresented the overwhelming consensus of scientists and government agencies that review the safety of ingredients, and unnecessarily alarmed parents.

That last part gets me: “unnecessarily alarmed parents”. I’m not so sure that it’s “unnecessary” to know that there are carcinogenic chemicals in products I’m blindly trusting are safe for my children. Especially with how “safe” so many products that the FDA has told us are safe only to find out they’re killing us…slowly but surely.

We’ve also seen that government regulations don’t seem to have the safety of its citizens as a top priority any more. Profit is the bottom line. So as far as I’m concerned, the fact that Johnson & Johnson are attempting to excuse the presence of these cancer causing chemicals by saying they operate within governmental standards doesn’t reassure me at all.

So how can we avoid bathing our children in these dangerous chemicals? There are many organic shampoos and soaps available today. Thankfully, the spreading knowledge of the dangers in our foods and skin care products have created a profitable network for safe, healthy and all-natural products, so they aren’t hard to find. Here are 10 safe, all natural alternatives to care for your baby’s skin:

Erbaorganics Baby Shampoo
Organic Blessings Baby Shampoo and Baby Wash
Nature’s Paradise Baby Shampoo and Baby Wash
Burt’s Bees Baby Shampoo Bar
Dr. Bronner’s Organic Castile Baby Soap
Nature’s Baby Organics Shampoo and Baby Wash
Angel Baby Shampoo and Body Wash
GAIA Skin Naturals Baby Shampoo
Oopsy Daisy Rinse Free Shampoo
Dermamed Baby Shampoo

At the very least, we want to make sure our children are safe, and by using these products with cancer causing chemicals, we are unknowingly hurting them.

Read the study here: http://www.safecosmetics.org/toxictub
News Article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/12/AR2009031202940_pf.html

Many of the foods we eat today are deep fried; we eat a lot of french fries, fried chicken, even fried vegetables. Unfortunately, most of the oils we use to fry with are partially hydrogenated oils. Partially hydrogenated oils are bad because they lead to diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity. Most partially hydrogenated oils are made from soybean oil.

Soybean oil is partly to blame for our country’s obesity problem. Soybean oil limits the functionality of the thyroid, draining our energy levels, and making us less likely to exercise. When your thyroid is depressed, it slows down your metabolism; therefore, you begin to gain weight.

Those who eat a lot of health products tend to eat a lot of soy; after all, the orientals have been eating it for centuries! What most people don’t realize is that while this is true, they didn’t eat soy in everything like we have begun to do. Oriental cultures used soy primarily for soy sauce and tofu. We have soy milk, soy burgers, soy baby formula…but too much soy is one thing that’s helping us all get fat.

In general, soy has been linked to many health conditions including thyroid dysfunction, infertility, increased risk of cancer, heart disease, Type I Diabetes and malnutrition. Yes, I wrote that! Eating a soy-based diet can actually starve your body of nutrients. Once you add in the fact that most partially hydrogenated oils are derived from soybean oil, you have a toxic mix of dangerous ingredients! With most of us eating this toxic mixture on a daily basis, is it any wonder that our children’s rates of Diabetes and obesity have risen so high?

One thing you may not know is that the soy plant itself is actually toxic to humans. Interesting, right? The plant that so many health gurus tout as being super healthy is actually toxic to our systems. Soybean oil contains a poisonous chemical called PHG; this chemical slows your blood circulation, causes your blood to clot, damages the central nervous system, interferes with digestion and can cause memory loss. Doesn’t that sound like a great “health food”?

Have you ever seen vegans that looked extremely malnourished? If you have, then they are probably eating a diet of soy: soy burgers, soy milk, soy bars, soy supplements, etc, etc. Soy contains high levels of phytic acid which block your body’s ability to absorb minerals and vitamins from the foods you eat. This causes you to actually become malnourished – the exact opposite of what everyone expects from soy foods!

Many may argue that soy is a great way to get protein for those who don’t eat meat. Well, that’s not true…because soy has a lot of enzyme inhibitors, meaning your body can’t make use of all that protein!

You already know that you should be avoiding partially hydrogenated oils, which is normally made from soybean oil. Now you have a ton of other reasons to avoid soy altogether. Science has proven that soy is not the health food that everyone believes it to be, yet health “gurus” keep promoting it as the best thing since sliced bread. Be healthy, and avoid soybean oil and soy products!

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